GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01005A000300010002-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 45
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 30, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 1, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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277
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
CIA/RR-MR-47
August 1955
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
DOCUMENT IN0
NO CHAN E IN CLASS. i_
DECLASSIFIEf
ASS. VpE ,' yT rO: S
TS
NEX7
Au FH: HR
DATE. REVIEV/ER: 372044
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WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National. Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Sees. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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ERRATA
MR-46, June 1955:
The text on pages 15 and 16 is reversed. Page 16 should be
and vice versa.
MR-47, August 1955:
Page 21, line 3, read "prepare" for "compare."
Page 3, line 6, read "Ufa" for Usa."
15,
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GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
CIA/RR MR-47
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
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Page
Changes in the Soviet Railroad Structure . . . . . . . . 1
Present Status of the Border Between East and West
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The 1954 Census of France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Soviet Interest in Oblique Mercator Navigation Charts . . 19
New Provinces in Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Thai-Meo Autonomous Zone Created in Vietnam . . . . . . . 25
Spelling Changes in Rumanian Place Names . . . . . . . . 29
Revised Italian Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
New Economic Atlas of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Maps
USSR: Railroad Systems, 1954 (13739) ? . following . . . 6
East-West Germany: Boundary Rectifications (13868)
. . . following . . . 12
France: Areas of Population Decrease 1946-1954 . . . . . 15
Turkey: New Provinces (13866) . . . . . following . . . 24
Thai-Meo Autonomous Zone (13874) . . . . following . . . 28
*The individual classification of each article in this Review is
given at the end of the article.
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CHANGES IN THE SOVIET RAILROAD STRUCTURE*
The rapid development of the Soviet economy in postwar years has
included changes in both the railroad administration and network.
Although the network is still inadequate, increased activity and the
addition of rail-line mileage had resulted in a straggling, cumber-
some railroad organization that required drastic overhauling to pro-
mote better administration and greater efficiency. Minor changes in
the administrative systems have occurred periodically, but the number
and rate of changes was greatly increased by the May 1953 edict of
the Council of Ministers, which authorized the consolidation of the
existing 56 systems into 1l.**
In the consolidation, the smaller, less efficiently operated
systems were divided among the larger adjacent systems, and the
regional systems were redefined so that none overextended into the
administrative area of another. Five key trunklines of considerable
importance are known either to be under construction or possibly to
have been completed. Information is lacking concerning the assign-
ment of these new lines to railroad systems. The revised railroad
*Research for this study was done in collaboration with the Serv-
ices Section, USSR Branch, Foreign Documents Division, 00, CIA.
**The existence of 56 systems was first confirmed by the Soviets
in Gudok, 15 February 1952. The edict reducing the number was men-
tioned in Zara Vostoka, 22 May 1953? In most cases, inefficiency is
cited as the justification for consolidations. The Soviet justifi-
cation for the creation of the Baltic System appearing in Gudok, 24
June 1953, is typical.
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network, including the reorganized railroad systems and additional
mileage, is shown on the accompanying map (13739). The system names
are those used by the Soviet Ministry of Transportation, and various
colors are used to differentiate the individual systems.
The major changes in the structure of the systems that have
occurred since 19+8 are summarized as follows:
1. The Leningrad System was created between 19+8 and 1952 from
a part of the October System. After the May 1953 edict, it was
reincorporated into the October System.
2. The Kalinin System absorbed part of the Western System,
which is now abolished.
3. The Belorussian System absorbed the Belostok and Brest-
Litovsk Systems in 19+8 and after the May 1953 edict absorbed the
Minsk and part of the Western System.
I. The Vinnitsa System was created between 19+8 and 1952 from
a part of the Southwestern System. After the May 1953 edict, it was
incorporated into the October System.
5. The Odessa-Kishinev System was formed by a merger of the
former Odessa and Kishinev Systems.
6. The Donets System was established by merging the former
North Donets and South Donets Systems.
7. The Moscow-Kursk-Donbas System was created by a merger of
the former Moscow-Kursk and Moscow-Donbas Systems.
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8. The Southeastern System absorbed the Penza System before
1952.
9. The Volga System was formed by merging the Stalingrad and
Ryazan'-Ural Systems.
10. The Transcaucasus System absorbed the Azerbaydzhan System.
11. The Usa System was created between 191+8 and 1952 from a
part of the Kuybyshev System.
12. The Sverdlovsk System absorbed the Perm System.
13. The Far Eastern System absorbed the Maritime System.
14. The Baltic System was created by consolidating the former
Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian Systems.
15. The Lvov System absorbed the Kovel' System between 1948
and 1952.
16. The Pechora System was formed from parts of the Gor'kiy and
Northern Systems.
17. The Karaganda System was created between 1948 and 1952 from
part of the Omsk System.
The five new trunklines under construction include the following:
1. The BAM (Baykal-Amur' Magistral). Not until recently have
the Soviets admitted any construction on this important alternate
route to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. On 4 November 1954, however,
Pravda (No. 308) reported the completion of a section of the RAM
about 700 kilometers long, extending from Tayshet to Ust-Kut via
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Bratsk. The Urga1-Komsomol'sk-Sovetskaya Gavan' section of the RAM
is described in detail in Map Intelligence Review No. 37S-7, September
1953.
2. The South Siberian Railroad. This trunkline has been highly
publicized by the Soviets and is to connect Magnitogorsk in the Urals
with Stalinsk in the Kuzbas. The line will pass through Akmolinsk,
Paviodar, Kulunda, and Barnaul. According to reports, it is also to
be extended eastward through Abakan to Tayshet, and westward through
Kartaly and Ishimbayevo to Abdulino. The Soviet press has reported
the completion of several sections of the line, such as those from
Akmolinsk to Pavlodar, Stalinsk to Barnaul, and Barnaul to Kulunda.
3. The Salekhard-Iarka Railroad. According to available
intelligence sources this strategic railroad is under construction
or possibly completed, but it has probably not yet been accepted by
the Ministry of Transportation for normal operation. No information
is available from open Soviet sources. A detailed study of the line
is available in Geographic Intelligence Review No. 42, August 1954.
4. The Okha-7movskoye Pobedino Trunkline of Northern Sakhalin.
Recent intelligence reveals that construction has begun on this key
railroad line, which will connect with the South Sakhalin System and
provide railroad transportation through the entire 600-mile length
of the island. A detailed study of the line is presented in Geo-
graphic Intelligence Review No. 44, February 1955.
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5. Komsomol'sk-Nikolayevka Railroad. Construction of this rail-
road is believed nearing completion, although official Soviet sources
remain silent on the matter.
The numerical designations of the systems appearing on Map 13739
were taken from the 1951+ Soviet tariff manual, Tarifnoye Rukoyodstvo,
N.1, Volumes I and II, published by the Ministry of Transportation
(Ministerstvo Putey Soobshcheniya SSSR).* In this source, each of
the 41 railroad systems is designated by a number in parentheses
following the system name. These numbers are basically the same as
those used in the 1938 edition of Tarifnoye Rukovodstvo, N.1+, Volume
I. Some of the numbers in both the 1951 and 1938 editions are iden-
tical with system numbers used in the 1925 and 1926 tariff publi-
cations of the Peoples Commissariat of Transportation entitled Svod
Tarifov na Perevozku Gruzov po Zheleznym Dorogam SSR (Tariff Summary
on Freight Transportation over USSR Railroads).
The system numbers in the 1938 and 195+ tariff manuals differ
only where individual systems have been consolidated into larger units
or abolished, or where new systems have been created. In the case of
consolidation of two systems, the number retained for the new system
in the 195+ edition is the smaller of the two system numbers appearing
*Numerical designations for railroad systems. appearing on the
Schematic Sketch of the USSR Railroad Network, 1948, were devised
arbitrarily by the Foreign Documents Branch of CIA -- purely as an
intelligence research aid.
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in the 1938 edition. Where a system has been abolished, the number
used in 1938 is not carried in the 1954 edition. The numbers used to
identify systems created since 1938 do not follow any definite se-
quence and appear to be arbitrarily chosen.
The 1954 tariff manual also proved to be an excellent source for
confirming the identity of system junction stations shown on Map
13739, which had been obtained originally from Gudok and other Soviet
sources. A number of supplementary brochures published in 1954 pro-
vided additional data on more recent changes in station names, freight
transloading centers, and freight tariffs. The wealth of railroad
information obtained from the two volumes of the 1954 tariff manual
and their supplements emphasizes the increasing need for similar
sources to provide corresponding detailed information on passenger
traffic, trains, and stations. (SECRET)
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 01
Donets
Donetskays
02
Stalin
Stalinskaya
03
Tranabaykal
Zabaykal'skaya
04
Transcaucasus
Zakavkazskaya
06
Belorussian
Belorusskaya
07
Kazan'
Kazanskaya
09
Moscow-Kursk-Donbass
Moskovsko-Kursko-Donbasskaye
10
Kimv
Kirovskaya
11
October
Oktyabr'skaya
12
Omsk
Omskaya
13
South Ural
Yuzhno-Ural'skaya
14
Sverdlovsk
Swrdlovskaya
15
Volga
Priwlzhskaya
16
Kuybyshev
Kuybyshevskaya
17
Northern
Severnaya
18
North Caucasus
Severo.Kavkazskaya
19
Ordzhonikidze
Ordzhonikidzevskaya
20
Ashkhabad
Ashkhabadskaya
22
Orenburg
Orenburgskaya
23
Tomsk
Tomskaya
24
Southeastern
Yugo-Vostochnaya
25
Southwestern
Yugo.Zapadnaya
26
Southern
Yuzhnaya
27
Far Eastern
Dal'ne,Vostochnaya
28
Amur
Amurskaya
29
East Siberian
VostochnoSlbirskaya
30
Turkestan-Siberia
Turkestano-Sibirskaya
31
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarskaya
32
Odessa-Kishinen
Odessko-Kishinevskeya
33
Moscow-Kiev
Moskovsko-Kiyewkaya
34
Kalinin
Kelininskaya
36
Ger'kiy
Gor'kovskaya
37
Moscow-Ryazan'
Moskovsko-Ryazanskoy
39
Tashkent
Tashkentskaya
41
Ufa
Ufimskeya
44
Loon
L'vovskaya
54
Karaganda
Karagandinskaya
55
Pechora
Pechorskaya
:.5T..,r.
-=' mttno-Sekhalinskeya
-~
90
Baltic
alzys y
Sl a
'Th. .-b- .nd sh. e.m., d th..ban.,an.d,yeeM an. Mkm La, TARIFNOY6
RUKOVODSTVO, Na IT.d 14..dbwkL Tnnnh.tdaM.4 M-, 1934.
MISCELLANEOUS LINES
A Salekhard-lgarkaKresnosel'kup-
Yermakow
It South Siberian
C Be.
D KomsomoPSk.Nlkolayevsk
E Okha-Pobedino
3.3.,..d (10"9 Bk
25
- c.3nmd (em....a
0.30,1.0 Irma. pup)
NDttIL.WNN, a.ua nnR.. s..
..wu xMri4 iM. RnM IAW A.n
SOURCES:
r w.. R.MfauWh...kh
T..weeldan~M. ~L.e..19M.
1. Atl..~Ri GIMM, Mawr, HM.
3. AM. Mi,~ 0000. M.~mr,1933.
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PRESENT STATUS OF THE BORDER BETWEEN EAST AND WEST GERMANY
The border between East and West Germany marks the westernmost
extension of Soviet-dominated territory in Europe and exemplifies
the meaning of the term "Iron Curtain." With the recent attainment
of sovereignty by West Germany, the border area takes on added sig-
nificance.
On 12 September 1944, 8 months before the end of the European
phase of World War II, the European Advisory Commission (EAC), meet-
ing in London, adopted a protocol between the Governments of the
United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics regarding zones of occupation in Germany.
This document provided that "Germany, within her [international]
frontiers as they were on the 31st December, 1937, will, for the
purposes of occupation, be divided into three zones, one of which
will be allotted to each of the three powers . . ." The provisions
of this protocol were later (26 July 19+5) amended to include France
as a participating power.
As a consequence of the EAC decision, present-day Germany is
divided into two major political_spheres, the Federal Republic of
Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and the so-called German Demo-
cratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik). Until 5 May 1955
the former (the West Zone) consisted of the American, British, and
French Zones of Occupation; the latter (the East Zone) is occupied
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by the Soviet Union. Apparently by coincidence, the demarcation line
separating East and West Germany follows almost exactly the German-
Slavic frontier of the early Middle Ages.
Although several major rectifications and numerous minor changes
have occurred along the original zonal boundary, the present line
remains basically the same as that agreed upon by the Allied Powers
in 1944. Presumably, that line was never intended to be more than
a temporary, stopgap line of delineation, but differences in the
interpretation of the course of the zonal boundaries have created
many problems and led to numerous border incidents. (See Map Intelli-
gence Review No. 36-s-6, June 1953, P? 12?)
The legal line of demarcation originally agreed upon by the EAC
established the frontier along the boundaries of the old German
Lander (states) as they existed in 1941. The right of modification
was given to the field commanders, and various boundary rectifications
took place in both the British and American Zones. Several important
alterations in the British Zone, made in 19+5 with the approval of
the Allied Control Council, were in the Elbe River and Blankenburg
areas (see the locational map, No. 13868, Insets A and B). The
most important rectification in the American Zone was the Witzen-
hausen exchange (shown on map 13868). This deviation in the boundary
line in Landkreis (rural county) Witzenhausen, Hesse (Hessen), was
established by written agreement between the U.S. commanding officer,
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Brigadier General Sexton, and the Soviet commanding officer, Major
General Askalepov, on 17 September l945.* In some instances, adjust-
ments along the border have been made by local verbal agreements
between the military authorities of opposite zones. As a result, a
"common usage" boundary, tacitly recognized by both East and West
German authorities, has been established in many areas along the
border.
Other alterations in the legal boundary were made as a direct
outcome of the activities of a surveying team of the British Army of
the Rhine (Survey Department) and its Soviet counterpart. An effort
was made to straighten out the boundary and to make minor adjustments
where it would be of tactical use to either side. These were accom-
plished mostly by following property fence lines or by moving the
boundary from the middle of a road to the eastern or western edge
so that the road would be entirely within the jurisdiction of one
of the occupation powers.** Although the legality of a boundary line
thus determined is doubtful because of the lack of written approval,
this official type of border rectification furnishes a point of
departure for future negotiations. The combined British-Soviet
*Atlas of Manuscript Maps Showin Boundary Rectifications Since
1945 Between the East and West Zones of Germ$ ; 1:25,000 (with 5
detailed maps at various scales ; 1953; CIA Call No. aF304.6 - 23 A8
1953; Secret.
**Ma of the British-Soviet Zonal Boun 1:25,000; Survey
Branch, BAOR (59 sheets), 1945 (7); CIA Call No. 855+0; Confidential
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survey has left certain areas in dispute, however, and the problem
still remains unresolved.
In many instances, the Volkspolizei (East German Border Police)
in fixing their frontier positions (digging plowed strips and erect-
ing barbed-wire fences) have established border areas that are virtu-
ally a "no man's land." This has been done both for convenience and to
help prevent defection to the West by persons living in close proxim-
ity to the border. Agriculturally productive parts of such areas
are being used by farmers of the German, Federal Republic -- chiefly
for growing hay, since they feel that their hold on the land is too
uncertain to justify more intensive cultivation.
In the brown-coal areas, the pits and work-heads were left in
the same zone wherever possible. In one area, the boundary line
was drawn to allow quarries that were actually in the West Zone to
be included in the East Zone, where the crusher and processor were
located. In several instances where city forests were in one zone
and the city in another, the forests were reallocated for the con-
venience of the local residents.
The modifications cited point up one of the principal diffi-
culties in discussing the border between East and West Germany --
the fact that the legal or official boundaries are not always the
"status quo" or actual boundaries. The frontier as it exists on
the ground -- the usage boundary -- is shown on maps of the
- 10 -
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Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Border Police),* which reflect the informal
exchanges accomplished by American, British, and Soviet withdrawals
from the agreed-upon boundary. In general, exact delineation of the
British-Soviet Zone boundary becomes more difficult as the American
Zone boundary is approached.
In the American Zone, however, the boundary problem is much
less acute than in the British Zone. The major border problem was
in the Witzenhausen area previously mentioned. In several sections
of the American-Soviet border the Volkspolizei have not always seen
fit to establish their boundary coincidental with the legal boundary,
and, as in the British Zone, have left a rather extensive area in
a no-man's land status. Consequently, the Bundesgrenzschutz have
moved up to the Soviet boundary, annexing a large area to the east
of the legal boundary and producing another usage line. For the
remainder of the American Zone, the legal and usage boundaries are
almost identical, except for several small areas such as Theobaldshof,
*Ma of the Boundary Between East and West Zones of Germany as
of February 15, 1955; 1:25,000; Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Border
Police), Ministry of Interior (107 sheets), 1955; CIA Call No. 93137;
For Official Use Only. This series of maps was surveyed and field
checked as of 15 February 1955 by the various field commands of the
border police, but it cannot under any circumstances be considered a
legal or official series. The frontier is shown by a rather thick
black line. The boundary itself is drawn in the East German Zone,
with the side toward the British and American Zones representing the
actual frontier.
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Schauberg, Kleintettau, Falkenstein, and Zweiwassermihle (see map
13868).*
Recent information indicates that local West German Kreis (county)
officers have been given permission to exchange lots immediately
adjacent to the frontier with East German zonal authorities. It is
entirely possible, therefore, that the usage line will again be
changed in the immediate future. While the changes will not, in all
probability, be extensive, they may conceivably be large enough to
be represented on a 1:25,000 map.
Much of the difficulty in determining the exact delineation of
the frontier can be attributed to the Soviet attitude that the present
boundary is not an international frontier between two sovereign na-
tions but merely an internal administrative boundary for the use of
the occupation powers. In recent years, the USSR has remained unco-
operative and unwilling to put on paper anything concerning the
delimitation of the border. (SECRET)
*Ma of the Boundary Between the US and the USSR Occ ation Zones
of Germany, 1952; 1:25,000; Public Safety Division, HICOG sheets T,
1952; CIA Call No. 79825; Unclassified; and Map of Problem Areas on
the US-Soviet Zonal Border of Germany, 1252; 5 tracings at various
scales; CIA Call No. 79826; Confidential. The problem areas depicted
on the map tracings are the result of ground surveys made by the U.S.
Army and the Office of Political Affairs, HICOG.
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THE 1954 CENSUS OF FRANCE
The 1954 census of the population of France is the twenty-
seventh systematic count of its inhabitants since the first census
in 1801. It is particularly significant because it is the only cen-
sus taken since 1936 that accurately reflects the normal economic,
social, and political life of the country since World War II. Nor-
mally, the French census has been taken every 5 years. However, no
count could be made in 191+1; although a census was taken in 1946,
it reflected the abnormally unsettled conditions following World War
II. At that time the social and economic life of the French people
had been completely disrupted by military occupation and extensive
destruction of homes, industrial plants, and transportation facili-
ties. A census was scheduled for 1951, a year when many countries
of Western Europe counted their populations, but it was postponed
for financial reasons.
After experiencing a declining birthrate for many years, France
has now reached a turning point. Since 1946, there has been a popu-
lation increase of more than 2,270,000, an average annual rate of
300,000. To the census total of 42,771,500 must be added 187,000
French citizens temporarily residing outside the country and an
estimated 38,000 other persons not officially counted. This brings
the total population of France today to approximately 43,000,000, or
roughly 10 percent of the total for Europe excluding the European
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USSR. Although the 195+ figures are affected to some extent by a
decrease in the general death rate and the infant-mortality rate,
the population increase results primarily from a rise in the birthrate.
According to the 195+ census, two traditional French characteris-
tics remain constant: (1) the dominance of one metropolitan center,
Paris, over all other cities; and (2) the wide distribution of com-
munes (administrative divisions roughly comparable to American town-
ships) with very small populations. The six and a half million in-
habitants of "Greater Paris" comprise about 15 percent of the total
population of France. Actually, the population in the city itself is
increasing very slowly, having gained only 0.7 percent between 1936
and 1954. During the same period the suburbs, which are largely
industrial, have been gaining on an increasing ratio from the city
outward. Those in the immediate environs of Paris have increased 8
percent, whereas the more remote suburbs have gained more than 20
percent.* The increase in rural population is spread fairly evenly
throughout the 69 departments that have gained in population since
1946. In the remaining 21 of the 90 French departments comprising
Metropolitan France, the population has declined since that date.
About half of the French population is divided among more than
37,000 communes with less than 5,000 inhabitants, of which some
*Population: Paris et sa Banlieue -- Evolution 19+6-1954; no
scale; Ministere du Logement et de la Reconstruction; January 1955;
CIA Map Library Call No. F251.9-4 93964.
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10,000 have less than 200
inhabitants each. The other
half lives in the slightly
less than 1,000 larger com-
munes with at least 5,000
inhabitants.
Aside from the marked
increase in the Paris area,
the general movement of
population has been toward
smaller industrial areas
an.. ports. This shift
from farms to widely separated cities and towns is not so much postwar
resettlement as a reflection of an economic trend toward concentration
of wealth in urban areas. Although France is still primarily agricul-
tural, the largest population increase between 1936 and 1954, two "nor-
mal" years, is in prosperous areas -- Paris, the industrial North, the
Rhone Valley, and a number of scattered cities including Bordeaux and
Toulouse. The greatest decline has been in central, western, and south-
western France and in Corsica -- all areas that are becoming poorer.*
*The shifting of population toward industrial urban areas is
indicated on a recent map: Population: Repartition Territoriale
par Canton, 1954; 1:1,000,000; MinistcIre du Logement et de la Re-
construction; December 1954; CIA Map Library Call No. F251-21 95968.
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Urban statistics show that France now has 24 cities of more than
100,000 inhabitants in comparison with 19 in 1936, and 63 cities of
more than 50,000 in comparison with 53 in 1936. Of the 10 largest
urban centers (cities and their suburbs) listed below, only Marseille
and Lyon have declined in population since 1936.
Urban Centers 1936
1954
1.
Paris
5,905,000
6,436,000
2.
Marseille
914,000
661,500
3.
Lyon
733,500
649,500
4.
Bordeaux
392,000
4i6,000
5.
Lille
352,000
359,500
6.
Toulouse
213,000
269,000
7.
Roubaix
259,000
26700O
8.
Rouen
236,000
246,500
9.
Nice
242,000
244,500
10.
Nantes
208,500
242,000
The report of the census..* consisting of over 900 pages, follows
the standard pattern of enumeration. Added to this is a 65-page
interpretive report in which the enumerations are analyzed from
various viewpoints selected on the basis of usefulness to French
administrative officials and planners. This supplement will be
equally useful to American analysts of French population problems.
In the supplement the methods used in counting the population are
explained in detail, as well as the breakdown followed in compiling
different categories of population groups. The 1954 statistics for
*Recensement de 1954 -- o ulation de la France, De rtements
Arrondissements Cantons, Communes Metr ole ; Republique Fran9aise,
Ministere de 1`Interieur, Ministere des Finances des Affaires t9onom-
iques et du Plan, and the Institut National de la Statistique et des
19tudes tconomiques; Imprimerie Nationale, Paris, 1954.
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the communes are compared with those of 1936 and 1946, and the totals
are broken down by nationality (French and foreign) and by density
(village and countryside). A separate category includes the number
of people who live in groups unrelated to the ordinary life of the
community, such as inmates of prisons and health institutions, and
residents of certain educational institutions and military barracks.
Annexed to the supplement are nine tables concerning:
(1) Changes in cantonal and communal boundaries
(2) Comparison of total population by department as of 1936,
1946, and 1954, and percentage variations in population
between 1946 and 1951.
(3) Number of natives and foreigners in each department of
France for all census years between 1896 and 1954
(4) Percentage of foreigners to total population by department
as of 1954
(5) Population of all towns and cities with populations of
more than 10,000
(6) Number of communes with more than 100,000 inhabitants and
those with less than 50, together with 20 intermediate
population categories
(7) Number of communes and total population in. each- department,
using the same population categories as Table 6 and the
additional summary category of "less than 2,000"
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(8 and 9) Lists of conmlunes having important urban concentra-
tions (agglomerations) other than their administra-
tive centers.
French social and industrial planners, as well as Government
administrators, have long looked forward to currently accurate figures
on which to base their studies. Since the publication of the 195+
Census, a Joint Colmnittee, with members from the Ministries of
Labor, Industry, and Housing and Reconstruction, has been set up to
study the problem of proposed decentralization of industry. Several
other long-range projects are in progress in the Institute of Statis-
tics and Economic Studies (Institut National de la Statistigue et
des Ptudes ~conomiques; INSEE), an official organization that conducts
various occupational and regional studies and maintains a file of
unusually detailed statistics on the communes. During the past 10
years the Institute has borne the burden of trying to analyze and
evaluate social and economic situations from the only available
official population figures, which confused rather than clarified the
problems. The 1954 census, in spite of minor inaccuracies, is a
sound first step toward better studies. (UNCLASSIFIED)
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SOVIET INTEREST IN OBLIQUE MERCATOR NAVIGATION CHARTS
25X1 Xerved
Because of the paucity of current intelligence on Soviet aerial-
navigation charts and devices, any evidence that indicates possible
developmental trends becomes of considerable interest. Recently it
was learned that the Soviets had acquired information concerning the
construction and operation of a German wartime plotting board for use
aboard the aircraft to indicate its position on a specially prepared 25X1X
By the end of World War II the Germans had developed an automatic
plotting board that indicated continuously the position of an aircraft
in flight. The plotting board was used in conjunction with separate
radar equipment, matching features at the indicated flight position on
the chart with the view presented on the radarscope. Such correlation
opened the way to further study of radar images and effects and pro-
vided a means of checking and correcting the position of the aircraft
on the chart.
With the plotting device, geographic position is indicated by the
intersection of two wires at right angles to each other, which move
laterally across the underside of a translucent Mercator chart. A
speed-integrating mechanism continuously adds the changes in position
due to aircraft speed and wind velocity, thereby controlling the move-
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ment of the wires. As the intersection point moves across the edge
of the chart a new intersection point appears at the corresponding
point of entry on the adjoining chart. The shift is accomplished by
means of two endless-belt systems at right angles to each other, each
of which carries three parallel wires, one of which is always in view
on the chart. The charts in the plotting device are evidently changed
manually.
The source passed on to the Soviets the information needed for
computing the charts essential to the automatic plotting device. The
mathematical formulas giving grid intersections in terms of new rec-
tangular grid coordinates were thus made available to the Soviets,
and several charts were actually computed and compiled for them.
Since the speed-integration mechanism does not compensate for scale
variation over the chart area, the scale on each chart has to be
nearly constant throughout. The Mercator projection, besides being
conformal, has very small scale variation near the axis of strength.
The German charts were compiled as a continuous series of Mercator
maps with a common "equator" coincident with the meridian of longitude.
Adjoining sheets matched at the edges. Depending upon the scale, the
meridians of coincidence were spaced at 3- or 6-degree intervals to
complete the coverage of an area embracing considerable range of
longitude. The scale preferred by the Germans for the automatic
plotting device seems to have been 1:1,000,000, but other scales can
be used by resetting the. integrating mechanism. By restricting the
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25X1X
25X1X
area of a given chart to a narrow band on either side of the "equator,"
the scale variation on any chart becomes negligible. A straight line
approximates a great circle very closely. It is possible to compare
oblique Mercator charts with any orientation of the projection
"equator" and still retain the desirable navigational properties of
conformality and almost uniform scale.
Although he did not reveal to
them the correlated use of the plotting device and radar, this,possi-
bility could hardly have escaped notice, since the instrument for
aerial navigation alone has obvious limitations. Without the use of
radar, the cumulative growth of positional error would become intol-
erable on long flights. The Soviets never intimated to the source
that they were undertaking programs along such lines and any conclu-
sions drawn are entirely speculative. Nevertheless, it may be assumed
that the German devices have been thoroughly weighed to determine what
advantages would accrue to the Soviets through their use. (SECRET)
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NEW PROVINCES IN TURKEY
The pattern of Turkish provinces remained remarkably stable
during the early postwar years despite some changes in their constit-
uent districts.* The creation of new provinces in 1953 and 1954,
therefore, occasioned more than routine interest, as to both the rea-
son for the changes and the method of carrying them out. From 1946
until 1953, Turkey had 63 provinces. The 64th province, called Uqak,
was formed in 1953; after the 1954 elections, two more -- Adiyaman
and Sakarya -- were created, and another new province -- Nev9ehir --
was formed largely from Kirsehir Province, which was disbanded.
The creation of the new units is closely connected with the
Turkish political scene. Adiyaman was formerly the largest district
in Malatya, the home province of Ismet Inonu, titular head of the
Republican People's Party (RPP) and President of Turkey from 1936 to
1950. For that reason the designation of Adiyaman as a separate
province has been called a vindictive act of the rival and now ruling
Democrat Party (DP). On the other hand, the creation of Sakarya has
been explained as merely the fulfillment of a campaign promise of
Prime Minister Menderes of the Democrat Party. Another reason advanced
for the creation of Adiyaman and Sakaraya was the desire to improve
*The Turkish term for province is vilayet or il; for district,
kaza or ilce.
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local economic conditions and provide more local representation and
a greater degree of self-government. Economic and political improve-
ment was also given as a reason for the creation of U9ak in 1953?
Unfortunately, the absence of exact details makes it difficult to
determine how much truth there is in such high-sounding explanations.
In any event, the political reasons have substance, and nowhere more so
than in the case of?the creation of Nevsehir.
Nevsehir was created primarily out of the dissolved Kir9ehir
Province, plus two districts from Nigde and one from Kayseri. Of the
two remaining districts of Kirgehir, one each was attached to the
provinces of Ankara and Yozgat. Behind the creation of Nevsehir is
the effort of the Democrat Party to gerrymander out of existence its
principal rival in the area, the Republican National Party (RNP). In
the 2 May 1954 deputorial elections the RNP swept all five of the
available seats allotted to the now defunct Kirgehir Province. Prime
Minister Menderes, though maintaining that the move had economic
justification, left little doubt as to his real motive by accusing the
RNP of political corruption.
The accompanying map, No. 13866, shows the new provinces and
their districts. In addition, the districts comprising the new prov-
inces, as well as those newly attached to old provinces, are listed
in the following table.
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CHANGES IN TURKISH PROVINCES, 1953-54
New Provinces and
Their Capitals
Usak - Usak
Y .1
Adiyaman - Adiyaman
Sakarya - Adapazari
(Sakarya)
Nevsehir - Nevsehir
Districts in
New Provinces
Banaz
Sivasli
Karahalli
Ulubey
U9ak
Esme
Adiyaman
Besni
Gerger
Kahta
celikhan
Adapazari
Akyazi
Geyve
Hendek
Karasu
Nevsehir
GUl9ehir
Kirsehir
Avanos
Kozakli
Mucur
Hacibektas
UrgUp
Provinces Gaining a
District from Kirsehir
Yozgat
Provinces From
Which Districts
Were Detached
(
(
(Kutahya
(
Kayseri
Districts
Kaman
ci9ekdagi
(FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY)
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U$AK
Territory detached from Kutahya
Territory detached from Manisa
0 100 200 Miles
0 100 200 Kilometers
NEV$EHIR
Territory detached from Kir$ehir (now defunct)
A District formerly in Kir$ehir
Territory detached from Nigde
Territory detached from Kayseri
NEW PROVINCES
Boundary of new province
- -?- Other province boundary
District boundary
O New province capital
0 20 40 60 Miles
0 20 40 60 Kilometers
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THAI-MEO AUTONOMOUS ZONE CREATED IN VIETNAM
On 29 April 1955, Ho Chi Minh, as President of the Communist
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), issued Decree No.
230 SL, Hanoi, for the formation of a Thai-Meo Autonomous Zone (see
map No. 13874). The formal creation of the "autonomous" area was
announced at a congress of various tribal peoples of northwest Vietnam
that convened in Son to Province on 7 May 1955, the anniversary of the
fall of Dien Bien Phu. Thus, an old Communist political-administrative
device is being used in Vietnam, the newest of the "People's Democra-
cies."
Mao Tse-Tung in 1938 adopted for China the standard Communist
line on the minority question -- "equal rights for minority peoples,
and respect for and development of minority cultures and religions."
Communist China has assiduously followed this line in dealing with
its 35 millions of minority peoples, creating 24 autonomous areas
between mid-1953 and early 1955. The "autonomous zone" concept, with
its emphasis on the rights of minorities, is, of course, actually a
sop thrown to a minority people to help obtain its support for the
Communist administration. When successful, this administrative device
also eliminates potential bases for dissident groups.
The new Thai-Meo Autonomous Zone is similar in extent to the
former autonomous Thai state (Federation of the Land of Thai) created
by the French in March 1948. it includes an area of 19,300 square
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miles, bounded on the north by China, on the west and south by Laos,
and on the east by the Fan Si Pan Mountains of Vietnam. The Zone has
three administrative levels: khu, zone; chau, division (equivalent
to a district in the provinces); and xa, village. The provincial
level has been eliminated. The 16 chau of the Zone include all the
districts of the former provinces of Son La and Lai Chau, plus Phong
Tho district from Lao Kay Province and Than Uyen and Van Chan districts
from Yen Bai Province.
The total population of the Thai-Meo Zone is estimated at
330,000. The two largest racial groups are the Thai and the Meo,
numbering 190,000 and 60,000, respectively. Other minority groups
are the Man, Muong, Puoc, Xa, and U Ni tribal peoples. According to
the Decree of 29 April, if a smaller minority group lives within an
area occupied by a larger group, a separate autonomous area will be
formed for the smaller group. Such a small autonomous area will be
administered directly and will have the rating of a khu or chau,
depending on its size. Areas within the Zone that are inhabited
predominantly by Vietnamese will not be made autonomous areas but will
have the same administrative pattern as the rest of the country.
The Thai-Meo Zone is largely an undeveloped mountainous area.
Except for a paved road connecting the towns of Lai Chau and Son La
with the Hanoi area and a link from this road to Dien Bien Phu,
transportation is generally over jungle trails or by river. The
economy is primitive, consisting chiefly of shifting agriculture,
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fishing, and hunting. The opium poppy, generally the cash crop of
the Meo tribes, is of some economic importance. During the recent
fighting in Indochina the Viet Minh used opium from this area and
adjoining areas of Laos as a medium of exchange in the Hong Kong
market to obtain items that the Chinese Communists were unable to
furnish, such as medicine.
Traditionally, settlement has been altitudinally stratified,
with the Vietnamese living at the lowest elevations and the Thai and
other tribes at much higher elevations. The tribes have long had a
mountaineer's aversion for the lowland Vietnamese -- a dislike that
has been strengthened by unprofitable trade dealings with the more
sophisticated Vietnamese. Undoubtedly the Viet Minh hope that the
Decree, with its guarantees in respect to local mores and languages,
will mollify this aversion, which borders on hatred.
Equally important is the relationship of the Autonomous Zone to
Laos. At present the Laotian provinces of Phong Saly and Houa Phan
(Sam Neua) are occupied by members of the Communist Pathet Lao Party.
These two isolated provinces, which adjoin the new Autonomous Zone,
were designated at the Geneva Conference as a strictly temporary
grouping location for the Pathet Lao Party, but in typical Communist
fashion the Party has been consolidating its strength in the area.
However, the Laotian people, like the Thai, to whom they are ethni-
cally related, have a strong dislike for the Vietnamese, a feeling
that has been strengthened by the Viet Minh Army incursions.
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Communist propaganda broadcasts beamed at Laos will probably continue
to dwell on the "cultural and economic benefits being enjoyed" by the
minorities in the Thai-Meo Autonomous Zone. In this way the Communists
hope to soften the Laotians, as well as Meo and other minorities living
within Laos, and thus pave the way for future political or military
action in that country. (CONFIDENTIAL)
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0Phong Sally
PHONG SALY
VIETNAM
THAI-MEO AUTONOMOUS ZONE
International boundary
Province boundary
Division boundary
Selected road
0 25
0 25 50
100 Kilometers
100 Miles
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SPELLING CHANGES IN RUMANIAN PLACE NAMES
The application of the new Rumanian orthographic rules to geo-
graphic names is apparently as confusing to Editura de Stat pentru
Literatur'd Ptiinjifickf (the Rumanian State Publishing House for
Scientific Literature) as to the Western nations. Which of the 16
spelling rules enumerated in the Council of Ministers Decree No. 3135,
5 October 1953, are applicable to geographic names is still not clear.
The general confusion resulting is reflected by official maps and
directories published in 1954 by Editura de Stat.
Indicator Alfabetic al Localittilor din Republica Popular'
Rom2n' (Alphabetic Index to Rumanian Localities), Editura de Stat,
Bucuresti, 1954, is assumed to be the authoritative directory for
official Rumanian use. This directory contains a complete alphabet-
ical listing of settlements and of first-, second-, and third-order
administrative divisions, supplemented by a map showing first- and
second-order administrative division boundaries. The geographic
names are purportedly spelled according to the new orthographic
rules. A comparison of these names with those spelled according to
the old orthography in Imp'rtirea Administrativ-EconomiceL a Repu-
blicii Populare Rommne (Administrative Economic Divisions of Rumania),
Bucuresti, 1952, reveals only one significant spelling change that
has been made consistently -- the replacement of the abolished letter
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"A" by the letter "i." Barlad becomes B^irlad, for example, and
C~tmpulung becomes C'impulung. Therefore, a revision of geographic-
name spellings on existing maps and gazetteers to make them agree
with the directory should in most cases involve merely the substi-
tution of the letter "'i" for "a." The Rumanians, however, do not
consistently abide by the new spellings.
An additional spelling change is reflected on the most recent
official Rumanian map accessioned by the CIA Map Library, Republica
Popular' Romina Harta Politico-Economics (Political-Economic Map of
the Rumanian People's Republic) published by Editura de Stat in 1954.*
On this map the letter "e" following vowels is consistently replaced
by the dipthong "ie." Consequently Ploe9ti becomes Ploie9ti, Sncueni
becomes $ cuieni, and ''argu-Sacuesc becomes 'I rgu-Sb cuiesc .
Still other rules enumerated in Decree No. 3135 have not yet
been applied to geographic names, among them the rule abolishing the
final "u," which had already disappeared from the spoken language.
Whether or not future maps will introduce additional spelling
changes remains to be seen. Until a larger number of representative
maps becomes available from which some general pattern of spelling
can be discerned, no reliable standards for the treatment of Rumanian
geographic names can be established. (UNCLASSIFIED)
*CIA Map Library Call No. 93061.
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REVISED ITALIAN ATLAS
Noteworthy among the European atlases that have recently become
available is a new edition of the Atlante Internazionale* published
by the Touring Club Italiano (TCI). The volume, dated 1955-56,
incorporates features not found in the last previous edition (1951)
while maintaining the high cartographic and typographic standards
that have for many years made TCI publications outstanding.
The main innovation of the new edition is a looseleaf format
that permits the insertion of new and revised maps as they become
available. Maps will be issued in groups of 12, of which two groups,
comprising about one-fourth the total number of projected maps, are
now available.
The maps issued to date cover the United States at scales ranging
from 1:1,500,000 to 1:3,000,000 and various countries of western
Europe at 1:750,000 to 1:3,000,000. Also included are maps of north-
western South America (1:10,000,000), Israel and Lebanon (1:1,500,000),
various Far Eastern countries (1:3,000,000 to 1:5,000,000), and
Central Asia and southern Siberia (1:7,500,000). The Benelux map at
1:750,000, the map of Israel and Lebanon, and the map of Central Asia
are completely new; the others are revisions of old maps.
*CIA Map Library Call No. aA000.T62 1955-56.
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Announced plans indicate that new maps covering Central America
and the West Indies, various islands of the southwest Pacific, the
Middle East, and European Russia are in preparation. The other maps
planned require revision only. The place-name index, a prominent
feature of past editions, will probably be the last part of the atlas
to be completed.
In its format and style, the new edition, like its predecessors,
reflects the emphasis on tradition, precision, and artistic finesse
that has long been characteristic of Italian cartography. For example,
all names on the maps are hand lettered, hachuring is used extensively,
and some of the maps required as many as 14 color plates. Maps of
comparable quality can be produced in the United States, but will not
appear in quantity unless several million Americans get around to
appreciating and paying for the difference between artistically per-
fect maps and less elaborate ones that are equally useful.
(UNCLASSIFIED)
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NEW ECONOMIC ATLAS OF THE WORLD
An exceptionally well-organized and up-to-date economic atlas of
the world was published in 1954 by the Oxford University Press.* The
relatively small volume (7-3/411 x 10-1/2"; 157 pages) presents an
impressive array of data on the production of specific commodities
while also portraying such background factors as climate, relief,
soils, and communications.
The atlas is in two main parts: (1) a section consisting of
background maps and production maps covering 150 commodities; and
(2) a textual-statistical section in which countries are listed alpha-
betically and data on area, land use, population, communications,
currency, exchange rates, production, employment, and trade are given
for each. The production maps are generally based on three or more
representative years during the period between 1948 and 1952. In the
statistical section, figures are often given for several prewar years
as well as for postwar years.
The recency of the data is outstanding for a work of world cov-
erage and extensive subject scope. For example, the iron-ore map
reflects the exploitation of Canadian, Venezuelan, and Liberian
deposits; and the map of uranium-producing areas includes a textual
summary on nuclear fuels.
*Oxford Economic Atlas of the World, prepared by the Economist
Intelligence Unit and the Cartographic Department of the Clarendon
Press. CIA Map Library Call No. aA000-27.08 1954.
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To save space, all but a few of the world maps are prepared on
the Oxford projection, an equal-area projection on which most of the
Atlantic and Pacific Ocean areas have been omitted. The general and
background maps range in scale from 1:6,000,000 to 1:150,000,000 and
the production maps from 1:100,000,000 to 1:200,000,000. Although
some of the maps are crowded, nearly all are legible and reasonably
easy to interpret. Among the few unsuccessful maps is one that
attempts to give the names of the important rayon-producing centers
of the world at the scale of 1:100,000,000. Aware of the limitations
of small-scale maps, the compilers intend to follow up the world atlas
with regional atlases in much greater detail. Volumes on the USSR and
Eastern Europe and on the United States and Canada are specifically
mentioned as being planned.
A rich assortment of interpretive textual data, tables, and
graphs appears on the maps and on adjoining pages. This information
aids the user in interpreting the maps and also covers some subjects
that cannot be treated with equal clarity in map form, such as long-
range production trends, various trade patterns, and developments for
which available data are incomplete.
Among the background maps is one on international blocs that
gives a breakdown of the British Commonwealth and an interesting, as-
seen-from-Britain view of the progress of dependent territories toward
self-government. In the first classification, independent member
countries -- Australia, Canada, India, etc. -- are listed along with
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the United Kingdom as entities of equal rank. In the next four cate-
gories, dependent territories are listed, beginning with those that
are partly self-governing and ending with those that have little or
no autonomy. In a note of monumental tact, it is explained that
dependent Commonwealth countries ". . . are, as it were, in a 'pro-
cession' towards independence and self-government: the order of the
procession varies and cannot always be precisely stated."
On the whole, the atlas is a remarkably compact, complete, and
up-to-date work. Some of the maps have cartographic shortcomings,
but these are not serious and seem to be more than outweighed by the
recency of the data. The volume should be a highly useful addition
to the reference tools of economic-geographic intelligence.
(UNCLASSIFIED)
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